Red and the Wolves: A Dark Reverse Harem Romance (Dark Fantasy Book 2) Read online

  A frail elderly woman appeared before me. Leaning up, she kissed my cheek, whispering in my ear, “You are more in control of your destiny than you realize, my child.” Her cryptic yet kind words startled me. Before I could respond, I felt her place something in my hand before hurrying away. Looking down I realized I held the handle of a large basket.

  “It is wine and cakes to help appease the wolves,” said one of the robed women, answering my unspoken question.

  Obeying their command, I followed them out of the chamber down a narrow corridor which opened into a wide antechamber. Two massive iron doors dominated the space.

  “This sanctuary shares a wall with the wall which surrounds the village. The sacrifice will move directly into the clearing. Never to step foot in our village again.”

  “Please—” I whispered in fear as I watched the women pull on the iron rings which opened the heavy doors. My whole life I had been taught to fear the clearing, to never venture beyond the safety of the village walls, and now I was to be cast out as if I didn’t matter, as if I were not a human being…as if I were only a sacrificial animal to be slaughtered and forgotten.

  The doors made a horrific screeching noise as they opened. Outside all was still and quiet. If I had not been taught otherwise, I would have thought it was nothing more than a placid pasture bathed in moonlight.

  A hand placed between my shoulder blades gave me a shove.

  Stumbling, I gripped the handle of the basket before sliding my foot forward. The moment the thin leather slippers they had given me touched upon it, I could feel the soft squish of the earth, a sharp contrast to the stone floor. I took another step forward. Despite my fear, my deep longing for the freshness of the open space, for the rich smell of grass coupled with the crisp clean scent of the night air compelled me forward. Leaving the oppressive chamber behind, I felt as if I were being bewitched…pulled forward by the moon and the call of the forest.

  The stillness of the night was broken by the reverberating sound of the iron doors slamming shut.

  The spell was broken. Dropping the basket, I turned to bang my small fists on the door.

  “Have mercy! Please! Don’t do this! Please! Open the door!”

  Cold silence greeted my impassioned pleas.

  I banged on the door and screamed till my voice was hoarse. Pressing my back against the cold metal, I slowly slipped to the ground. Scalding tears fell down my cheeks as I tried to figure out what to do next.

  As I stared across the clearing, I could see the outline of the forest shift and move.

  Shadows detaching themselves from the darkness.

  Breathing heavily, I pushed myself upright as I strained to see past the trees. Was it fear or my imagination? No. The shapes were taking form.

  Stepping into the clearing from the edge of the forest, I could see five distinct outlines.

  The wolves.

  No.

  They were men. Men!

  I knew from my lessons that the dark force, although never named, was like a black creeping cloud. An evil rising smoke. Never the shape of a man.

  The five men stalked forward. As they walked more fully into the clearing, I could see them in the bright moonlight.

  Five large beastly men. Their brawny bodies barely covered with fur pelts. Their amber eyes glowing in the dim evening light.

  Not wolves. Men.

  Completely confused and frightened, for some strange reason being faced with five beastly men seemed far worse than a pack of wolves.

  Turning, I desperately banged on the door. “Help me! Help! You must open the door. These aren’t wolves.”

  Through my cries, I could hear a low collective growl.

  Knowing my salvation was my own, I gave up all hope of rescue and did the only thing I could.

  I ran.

  2

  The worst fear of all is knowing there was no escape. That no matter how fast I ran, they were coming.

  The beasts were coming.

  I could hear them—their heavy breathing closing in on me.

  I could smell them—an animalistic scent so powerful I could barely inhale fresh air.

  I could see them—out of the corner of my eyes, I saw them closing in on each side of me.

  I could taste them—taste the blood on my tongue from biting my lip in order not to scream as I ran.

  I could feel them—a strong hand on my upper arm, seizing me, flinging me backwards, capturing me, and ending any chance of hope that I had.

  Yes…the worst fear of all was knowing there was no escape.

  I should have heard their growls. Maybe even a low guttural sound belonging to creatures of the forest. Not words. I should not have heard words from the two-legged demons behind me.

  “Do not run from us,” one demon roared as he pulled me hard against his chest.

  This was a man. A man. Not a wolf. Not a beast. A man.

  I turned my head to look up into amber eyes. Piercing eyes so fierce and similar to eyes belonging to a wolf, but instead they were eyes of a man. Four other men stood on each side of us with the same amber eyes, and the same fury present within them.

  “The wolves,” I said, not much louder than a whisper. “Where are the wolves?”

  The man who held my arm asked, “Can you hear me?”

  I nodded my head as I looked at each man who appeared both confused and terrifying at the same time. Cloaked in furs, unshaven faces, long and wild hair, these men had wolfly characteristics but were not animals. They studied every inch of me from head to toe, anger seeming to stem from more than just my running away.

  The man squeezed my arm tighter. “What do you see? Tell us now!” His hot breath fell upon my face as he shook me slightly. “Do you see wolves?”

  I shook my head, unsure of why he would ask such a question. “I see men. I see nothing but five men surrounding me.”

  The man’s grip eased up, and I could hear his breath hitch.

  “Grimm,” a man from the left of us said, “If you don’t claim her, then one of us will. The…need…is strong regardless of what she sees or hears.”

  “Resisting her…do something now or I will,” another man added. “I don’t know if it’s the fucking curse but her smell…the fucking pull is too great.”

  “The hunger,” another said, closing in closer to us. “My body feels as if it is starved.”

  “Move out of the way. I want her,” the last of the men said, getting close enough that Grimm actually snarled at the man in warning.

  “No,” Grimm roared. “She’s mine. I captured her first, so she’s mine before you all.” The words from his fellow man were clearly all that Grimm had needed to not only take a stronger hold of my arm but to shed me of my clothes. Fast and furious, like how I imagined a wolf would claw at his prey, I felt every remaining shred of garment that stood in the way of what he planned to claim being ripped from me. I wanted to fight, or offer some sort of resistance, but the pure terror and shock of what was occurring paralyzed every quivering muscle in my body. Humiliation caused by my nudity was nothing compared to the suffocating fear I felt as I waited to be devoured by the man before me in the worst ways possible.

  He might not be a wolf.

  He might appear to be a man.

  But, make no mistake…this man was a beast.

  I saw it now. I saw the animal unleashed in the way he stared at me with hungry lust. He was not gently disrobing me as I’d pictured my wedded husband doing on the night I offered my maidenhead. He was not caring as the white of my gown fell to the ground with the red cloak piled beside it. Grimm was nothing more than a predator, me the prey, and my red cloak acting as the blood I shed in this war already lost.

  I stood naked before five men. Five men, who though weren’t wolves, were more brutish than anyone I had ever encountered before. Who would do this? Who could do this? Who could stand and stare upon a naked, shivering female, with no expression or sign of feeling other than the tenting of their manhood agains
t the fur of their kilts.

  Animals.

  They were truly animals.

  As I was positioned on all fours, I knew my path had been laid before me. The clouds looming were about to unleash with a storm strong enough to rip apart the woman I once was.

  The ground was wet beneath my knees and palms, and gave slightly with my weight. The cool air against the bare flesh of my most intimate places, made all the more obvious in the position I was in, was a jolt to my soul. I had to fight. I couldn’t just let this man take me like an animal mates with another.

  Attempting to crawl away before Grimm mounted me from behind, my feeble attempt was met with a harsh slap to my vulnerable behind.

  “There is no choice in this,” his deep husky voice said from behind me. “Accept the fates that have been presented before us. What is done is done. What has to happen, has to happen. You can’t fight this and win. We are all cursed.”

  He slapped me one more time to accentuate his point, but I had already stopped trying to crawl away. His stinging correction was a warning: a warning that I didn’t want to ignore.

  “Please don’t do this,” I pleaded. Trying to flee was a lost cause, but maybe begging would cast some light in the man’s shadowed conscience.

  “Now, Grimm.! Before we make the decision for you, and not wait our turn,” a voice from one of the watchers called out.

  Grimm took hold of my hips as he positioned himself behind me, spreading my legs wide as he kneeled between them. I didn’t need to turn my head to know that his bottom half was bare. I felt the hardness of his sex press up against my ass, demanding so much more.

  “Some things must occur,” he said as his hand dipped between the folds of my sex, rubbing up and down in a soft caress. “We stopped resisting a long time ago. It’s best you do as well.”

  “This does not have to happen,” I argued, wanting to slap away his hand, but also feeling as if my palms needed to remain where they were.

  His touch didn’t hurt, but it violated everything I’d once believed to be right. He was a stranger. No vows had been made. No promises of forever. No commitment in a ceremony. And as my pussy seemed to welcome his touch, I gasped as the realization hit me that my body was betraying me. This demon and his dark magic had taken hold, and a wicked delight throbbed in ways I had never experienced.

  “Yes, my village sacrifice. Get that pussy nice and wet for me. The readier you are, the easier this will be for you.”

  His vile words only seemed to make my sex pulsate more. The slickness of my arousal was spread all around. Without warning, Grimm’s finger penetrated into my opening. The shocking invasion had me crying out, though the cry wasn’t one of pain or even disgust. It was unfamiliar just as the sensations sizzling over my body were.

  Witchcraft? Sorcery? The darkest forces were clearly at play.

  In and out, his finger pumped and spread my tight little hole. The stinging, but also delightful, bite forced a soft moan from my lips. I wanted him to stop. No…I wanted him to continue. No…stop. No…continue on.

  “Why?” I squeaked.

  Why was my body reacting the way it was?

  Why was I no longer afraid?

  Why was I consumed by sinful thoughts?

  Why did this devil have a hold of me, and I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to ever be released?

  Grimm pulled out his finger from my pussy, leaned over me, and placed his fingertip to my lips. I could smell my musky scent as he pressed it past my mouth.

  “Why?” he said in a low voice, so low I think only I could hear. “Because we all do what we must to keep the darkness away. Even if it means allowing the darkness to swallow up our souls.”

  Moving his finger along my tongue, I tasted the depraved nectar caused by the mastery he had just performed on my body. It was so wrong and shameful, yet my pussy dripped even more.

  “And because we are beasts. Though you may see us as men, trust me, we are as from from being men as one could be. Whether you like it or not, each one of us will claim you in all ways. The urge is too strong to deny.”

  “All ways?” I asked as he pulled his finger out of my mouth, rubbing the wetness along my lips.

  “Yes. We will claim this hole”—he plunged his finger back into my mouth—“and we will claim this hole.” He then moved his wet finger to the entrance of my anus. He pressed hard enough to apply pressure, but didn’t break the surface. “And then we will claim this pussy of yours. Each one of us.”

  Not giving me time to process his words and what they all really meant, Grimm repositioned his member at my pussy, and began to press inside. My traitorous body welcomed him but my mind screamed no.

  “Don’t hurt me,” I said.

  “Oh this will hurt, my sacrifice. This will most certainly hurt.”

  I tried to lunge forward, but Grimm held firmly onto my hips, and I knew there would be no stopping this act. Inch by inch, Grimm eased his way in. I was grateful it all didn’t happen in one big thrust, but the stretching of my hole was unbearable yet tantalizing at the same time. Pain and pleasure. Deep rooted shame, but hidden desires emerging. The rest of the men stood in the distance and watched as Grimm stole my innocent grace.

  Moans of pleasure—both his and my own.

  And with a pop as a virginal wall collapsed, I wondered if my face would forever be stained with tears.

  Tears that I couldn’t explain. Tears so full of passion and craving for more. Tears of disgrace and contrition. Tears of allowing this darkness Grimm spoke of to enter my own soul.

  I wanted to peel my skin to avoid his touch.

  Pierce my eyes to avoid watching the other men’s stares.

  I wanted to sacrifice my outer being to save my soul.

  But at the same time, I also wanted to push my hips back to meet each thrust of his cock as he claimed my body under the moon. The red of my hair hung in my eyes, reminding me of the blood of a battlefield—my battlefield. I watched the soil encrust into my nail beds as I scraped at the dirt of the ground. Over and over, Grimm conquered my body, and I had no choice but to surrender. It wasn’t Grimm who demanded it be so…it was my own body that did so.

  My eyes closed and opened as Grim drove into me. Each time my eyelids fluttered open, I would stare into one of the other men’s eyes. I don’t know why I did, but the hypnotizing act felt right. Each driving thrust from Grimm would rock my body back and forth, but I would maintain my locked stare until I closed my eyes only to open and stare at another.

  Five men.

  Five sets of amber eyes.

  Five wolves.

  Me.

  The cadence of Grimm’s plunging in and out sped up until he was mating me as a dog would mate with another. Abandoned and wild as his nails dug into my hips, he drove in deeper and deeper. I was being fucked like an animal, by an animal. And with a final thrust, a deep, loud growl erupted from the sinister being behind me—so loud, so powerful, so dominating.

  Claimed.

  Claimed by the animal hidden in a man’s skin.

  But something happened to me as Grimm pulled his cock from my still-quivering pussy. I didn’t feel the need to run as all the men stared down at my naked and used body on the ground. I didn’t feel shame. I didn’t feel hatred. I felt the need to continue this sacrifice to the blood moon. Protect my village from what lay hidden in the dark woods. Grimm was right. We all do what we must to keep the darkness away. Even if it meant allowing the darkness to swallow up our souls.

  But I would fight this darkness with the ultimate light—commitment to not be broken.

  My strength would rise in cloaked silence.

  And I would be the fragile rose but with thorns so sharp that I would shred their inner beings without them ever seeing it coming.

  This would be my silent vow.

  I pulled my knees to my chest to try to conceal some ounce of my dignity and waited to see who would come next. Would they all mount me one by one and take their turn in their claiming
? How would I survive such an act? Fresh tears fell from my eyes in anticipation of a never-ending nightmare. After they devoured my body with their cocks, would they then change back to the wolves they were supposed to be and devour me with their fangs and claws?

  Grimm reached down for my ceremonial gown and hooded robe that had been cast to the side. As he handed them to me, his once fierce animalistic eyes softened. When I didn’t take the clothing from his outstretched hand, he kneeled down before me, put the gown over my head, and dressed me as a father would a child. The amber in his eyes was now warm, his breathing calm and no longer ragged, his touch gentle as he placed the red robe over my shoulders. All terrifying signs of the animal were gone. Grimm was nothing more than a man kneeling before me.

  I shook in fear but also as the throbbing caused from the claiming hadn’t quite left my body, and Grimm noticed.

  “I know you fear us. You should.” He reached for the strands of hair that hung in my face and softly brushed them away, tucking them behind my ears. “I can’t promise you anything, or tell you the lies you want to hear to make yourself feel better. I can’t make the darkness go away. But you still need to come with us.”

  I had nothing to say. And he was right. I did have to go with them. I knew that. I knew I had no other options. Not yet.

  “She dropped her basket when she ran,” one of the men said as he walked up to us after fetching the basket and all the goods. “Tonight we feast.”

  “Oh yes,” another man said staring at me with the same hungry eyes that Grimm once had. “Yes, tonight we will most definitely feast.”

  3

  “Drink.”

  Stubbornly, I turn my head away as I burrowed further down into the pile of furs they had placed me on.

  “It wasn’t a request.”

  Returning the beastly man’s glare, I snatched the bottle from his hand and took a long pull, immediately regretting it the moment the strong wine hit my empty stomach. Sputtering and coughing, I only had a moment to catch my breath before he tilted the bottom of the bottle, forcing me to drink again.